iPhone 6, backlight yes, image no - probably faulty mainboard

I have a complicated problem with my iPhone 6 and I'm desperate to save the data on it.

I'll try to describe everything in detail so everything is as clear as possible:

A couple of months ago, my iPhone started to turn itself off while I was using it. It could be turned on again right away, or I would have to wait for 10-15 minutes before I could turn it back on.

The next day, everything seemed ok, but suddenly red thick vertical stripes appeared over the screen, filling the screen from left to right (| | | | |). After this, the screen went black.

I haven't been able to get the image on the screen back on, but the backlight works.

When I plug the phone into my computer, iTunes recognizes it, but says that there is a problem with it and it has to be updated or reset. When I click update it downloads the new software and everything, but hangs when it comes to "Waiting for iPhone" (because at this point I'm probably meant to agree to something on the iPhone screen, which is impossible as the screen is black). It eventually ends up in an Error 4005-message.

I also did try the Reset-button, but by using an .ipsw that doesn't delete anything on the phone (guidance here: https://www.reddit.com/r/jailbreak/comme...). Same happened, Error 4005. At some point, the Apple logo actually appeared on the screen - instantly raising my hopes, but it got stuck there and also ended up in Error 4005.

The phone has never been dropped or exposed to any fluids. I took it to an Apple store, and they told me they could swap it on warranty. The problem with that is that I have a lot of data on it and no backup (I was positive I had iCloud activated, I even pay for additional storage with them, but I got this new phone just 2 months ago and unfortunately I didn't activate iCloud at any point - I know, I hate myself for it as I'm normally good with backups).

So, I pretty sure that it must be the LCD, so I took the phone to the best local repair guy. He tried a new LCD, new connector, etc., but concluded after a couple of days that it must be the mainboard that is faulty.

Alright, the problem just got more complicated. I googled my brains out for hours, and found (through this site actually), ipadrehab (mendonipadrehab.com). I contacted them, described my problem, but I soon got a reply saying sorry, this is a problem we don't have a solution for.

Ok, I realized that my chances worsened.

Then, I came across a small company here in Norway that can do repairs on mainboards. They just had my phone for a week, measuring and looking for short circuits, but couldn't find any. They told me that that doesn't necessarily mean that there aren't any short circuits, just that they couldn't identify any. They also said that there are numerous small circuits/chips on the mainboard that controls the LCD, but that they have no way of identifying which one, and they don't want to do anything without knowing which one.

So, I'm left here with my phone and I have no clue what to do next. Obviously, I need a guy or a company that has high technical skills and the right equipment for a mainboard repair. Or, if it's possible (I don't know), take the storage component(s) out and hook them up to some device that can read the data off them some way.

What's annoying is that the phone looks perfectly fine. I can charge it, turn it on and off, it gets recognized in iTunes, the backlight turns on, but the screen is dead black.

Any advice for me for what to do or for someone competent who could try to fix my phone is greatly appreciated! I'm willing to send my iPhone anywhere in the world to have it fixed.

If you use a longer screw or overtightened screws incorrectly for the metal shield that goes over the front screen connectors on the logic board on the screw holes that sit on the logic board then the phone may have long screw damage.

Long screw damage is when a longer screw is used for a screw hole on the logic board where it cuts through the PCB of the logic board shorting or cutting out the circuit traces inside the logic board.

I think your best bet for starters to get the data back is to get another battery tested on that phone and see if it boots up successfully (You can plug in the new battery without needing to remove the old one)

4 Soluções

Hi Kristian. I've read your question, comments and the other's answers. You face quite a dilemma here. You don't give us enough information to troubleshoot the problem via this format, which is normal given the type of failure.

Here are some potential possibilities to research:

Troubleshoot the logic board to figure out the problem and fix. It's probably not U2 because iTunes recognizes your phone.

Move all the tied-together IC's (CPU, NAND, BB_CPU, EEPROM, TouchID) to a working logic board. That is like a heart and brain transplant.

I haven't tried #2 myself but there are shops in China that can do this. I regularly do Touch, PMIC, Tristar type chips (check out my profile) but doing a CPU reliably is on another level.

However, at some point, you will have to go all-in or walk away. @jadeetk421 makes a good point on how many shops focus on the tried and true solutions to known problems. Not every broken phone phone can be repaired or have data recovered. But for every "new problem", someone has to figure it out and chances are there were a few casualties along the way. A reliable fix for Touch Disease was not found in a day.

Option 1 is the safest bet for now but even that comes with risks. Things can go wrong very quickly when you start messing around the logic board; pads can lift, excess heat causing collateral damage to neighbouring IC's...

Whatever you choose to do, you have to take the risk that the data may be lost forever. There is no safe, easy solution here.

At this point, I'm intent to go all-in. I'm desperate to save the data, I don't care about the phone itself, so that leaves me with no other option than to have someone give it a shot.

I have tried to have someone troubleshoot the logic board. They couldn't identify any short circuits, but admitted that it could very well be one. This was a local repair shop in Norway, and they didn't seem very advanced. So, can you recommend me a specific repair shop that can do a thorough and advanced logic board troubleshoot?

I'm thinking that if your option 1 is carried out without luck, I will try option 2. I'm afraid option 3 and 4 is out of question as long as I don't win the lottery very soon...

First I just wanted to compliment how detailed your post is. This is a lot of background information that shops like mine love to get because it makes a successful outcome so much easier!

Now, with that being said, I can tell you that Jessa and the folks at iPad Rehab are simply some of the best in the industry - they pretty much set the standard and offer courses on board level repair. I do not work for them, nor am I affiliated with them, but I have attended their school. It sounds like you have done, or had done on your behalf, all of the assembly based swaps that make sense.

When we are diagnosing issues such as your phone is having, we have to go with "the usual suspects" for the given set of symptoms, of course. A symptom set and background such as your device has just doesn't point to a particular problem that has been encountered and resolved often enough to produce a "likely culprit" for he device.

As a point of clarification can you provide the following information:

1. When you have performed the "update" method, did you get a "connect to iTunes" image/message?

2. Are you 100% certain that ONLY MFi certified cables have been used on the device?

As I've mentioned, at this point I'm willing to try anything to have this fixed.

I don't believe the local shop here in Norway actually did any repairs on the logic board, as they couldn't locate the problem (and although they can fix short circuits, I'm pretty sure that this shop is not among the most sophisticated repair shops in the world to be honest). So when reading your answer, I realize that there might be some components that haven't been swapped. I'm not sure if the U2 chip, for instance, has been swapped. Not sure how much I can trust "we have tried everything" from the local repair shops here.

1. If you're referring to the phone itself: No, the screen remains black. However, one time (out of 50 more or less), the Apple logo suddenly appeared on the screen, but got stuck there for an hour or something. If you are referring to iTunes, it hangs when it comes to "Waiting for iPhone".

I'm one of those people who never wants to give up, I feel like it might be worthwhile to replace Tristar to see if we can resolve USB communication. I've asked for opinions on your situation in a closed forum that I am a member of. I'll certainly update you once I have a little bit more feedback!

When you contacted mendonipadrehab, did you request to fix the display problem or to get your data off the phone? Because getting your data is completely different from giving you back a phone in a good and lasting working condition.

So may be they don't have a lasting solution for your display issue; on the other hand @jessabethany (owner of ipadrehab) is the absolute best at getting data from even dead phones, and may be able to do data recovery on your iPhone. BUT may not be able to fix it in a way that will allow you to use it afterwards.

So if only your data is important, you may want to contact them again and ask for their data recovery services.